The Supreme Court has referred the issue of whether alimony can be granted where marriage has been declared void under Sections 24 and 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 to the three-judge Bench of the Court.

The Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice PB Varale has ordered, “Learned counsel appearing for the parties state at the Bar that these matters need to be considered by a Three Judge Bench combination as there are conflicting views on the applicability of Sections 24 and 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 whether alimony can be granted where marriage has been declared void…Accordingly, let the papers be placed before Hon’ble the Chief Justice of India for passing appropriate orders.”

AOR Rajesh Aggarwal for the Appellant while Senior Advocate Mahalakshmi Pavani appeared for the Respondent.

The Court mentioned the judgments in landmark judgments in favour of granting the alimony, which are as follows: 1. Yamunabai Anantrao Adhav Vs. Anantrao Shivram Adhav & Another (1988 SC), 2. Savitaben Somabhai Bhatiya Vs. State of Gujarat & Others (2005 SC), 3. Abbayolla Reddy Vs. Padmamma (1999 AP), 4. Navdeep Kaur Vs. Dilraj Singh (2003 P&H) and 5. Bhausaheb @ Sandhu S/o Raguji Magar Vs. Leelabai W/o Bhausaheb Magar (2004 Bom).

Following are the judgments against granting alimony: 1. Chand Dhawan Vs. Jawaharlal Dhawan (1993 SC) and 2. Rameshchandra Rampratapji Daga Vs. Rameshwari Rameshchandra Daga (2005 SC).

Accordingly, the Court directed the Registry to place the matter before the Chief Justice for appropriate orders.

Cause Title: Sukhdev Singh v. Sukhbir Singh

Appearances:

Appellant: AOR Rajesh Aggarwal, Advocates Mridul Aggarwal, Akash Karanwal, Shubham Chandel and Amrender Ray

Respondent: Senior Advocate Mahalakshmi Pavani, AOR Naresh Kumar, Advocates Neeleshwar Pavani and Shaurya Mishra.

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